While my V60 was in the workshop for its annual wash (and oil change), the dealer invited me to take one of the new XC60s out for a spin.
What a car. Basically, they've taken all the bits that are annoying about the V60 and fixed them.
The D5 with PowerPulse (some supercharger / gas tank / turbocharger combination) goes like stink. It steers like it's on rails, which is remarkable for a 4x4. The turning circle gives a black cab a run for its money and the fiddly stack of buttons is replaced with a slightly less fiddly giant touchscreen.
Unusually, the seatbelts tighten up if it thinks you're about to crash (don't ask, involved a bit of speed and a hump-back bridge).
Tried out the Pilot Assist function on the motorway and it's another world. Rest a hand on the steering wheel and idly supervise the task at hand. It'll tolerate both hands off the wheel for about 10 seconds so you can open a bottle of water. This'll generate a "bong" of irritation from the car, and if you leave it much longer it throws a tantrum and insists you take over the job of steering.
Worked fine on the motorway, no issues on sweeping A-roads or in town either. It's the next Big Thing, and a somewhat surreal experience. I'm used to adaptive cruise and lane assist, and the job of monitoring troublesome automation anyway, and it blew my mind.
The negatives? The refresh-rate of the TFT instrument cluster is only about 15 FPS, noticeably choppy compared to the V60. The layout of the data (speed etc) also not quite as clear, but still pretty good.
Tried to use the auto-park feature in a gap slightly too small, which the car gave up on about half-way in. Wouldn't bother with it, but would recommend the rather magnificent bird's-eye camera.
Seriously tempted despite the price, have told the dealer that when they come to flog off their demonstrator in six months that if they can cover the difference between the outstanding finance on my V60 and the trade-in value (about £5k), I'll buy it.
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New XC60 test drive 
New XC60 test drive 
